A New Type of Adventure
by Dustianna
Summary: Erica returns from her last adventure only to find Velkan has found her in the future, but why?
1. Chapter 1

'Velkan.' _How could Velkan be here, in my room?_

'You know my name, I see,' he said, still gazing at the ceiling. I kept silent. So many things were running through my head, so many questions.

_How did he get through the portal?_

'Surprised to see me?' he asked, turning his head towards me. Our eyes met and I watched in horror as I saw his eyes flash gold. My heart began to race as I recognized the reason as to how he did this.

_Velkan is a vampire_. I gulped.

'What do you want?' I asked. He smiled at me and disappeared. Before the blink of an eye, Velkan appeared on the edge of the bed; holding the vial that Derek had just given me.

'Give that back.' I watched as he twisted the vial between his thumb and forefinger and held it up to his eyes.

'So this is what they used to allow time travel. That friar was actually good for something,' he smirked.

'What do you want?' He slowly put the vial down and looked at me and patted the bed next to him to signify that he wanted me to sit. I hesitated for a moment, but sat anyway.

'Where to start?' he wondered aloud, 'ah, yes, I suppose that it is best to go to where we last saw one another. After you had ran from Dracula, he turned to me and pulled out the stake that I had impaled him with. He laughed at me, and asked, "you don't remember, do you?" Of course, I was confused and took a step back as he took a step towards me.

"About what?" I had asked.

"Who I am, who you are…." This, of course, caught my attention; I had been looking for who I was for so long. And here was the one person with all the answers I would ever need, the one who could either ruin my life or create it anew.

"Yes," he continued, "I know all about you, Velkan Valerious. All about your past and what you can be in the future." It was at the sound of my name that I froze. It was as if I knew who I was all along, but I didn't at the same time. With my attention distracted, he swept down upon me and bit me. When I awoke a few hours later, I found that Dracula had been murdered already and that you were gone.'

Velkan sighed and continued, 'Since I couldn't find you, I went to find out my past; I went to Transylvania. For almost a decade, I learned about what my history was, about my sister, Princess Anna, and my relation to Dracula. After those years had passed, I went to search for you. Everywhere I went, I could not find you and during the First World War, I moved to the United States in order to search the records for an Erica Townsend. Still, there was no sign of you. I didn't find any sign of you until the late 1990's, when I typed in your name into an internet database. It was curious that a birth announcement dated in the late 1980's came up. None of it made sense, because, how could you have been in the late 19th century, if you were born in the late 20th? So I found where you lived and saw two little girls, aged 10 and 11 playing in the yard. I recognized you without any problem and knew definitely that it was you when your mother called you in by name for supper.'

'Why did you search for me?' I asked, curious._ What could have kept him looking for me for over a century?_

'Because I need you.' I looked into his brown eyes and saw something in them pleading with me.

'I need to go,' I said as I remembered that Derek was waiting for me in the living room. I stood and he quickly grabbed my wrist. 'Velkan, let go.' He did as I had asked but his eyes flashed gold as a warning sign. I froze.

He held the vial up to his eyes again and after he gazed into it for a few seconds, he grasped the vial in his fist, closed his eyes and pressed the vial to his forehead. He muttered something that I couldn't understand. He then threw the vial at my door, my only way out.

As soon as the opaque smoke began to form, I knew that he had broken the glass. I looked back at Velkan to see his reaction and I saw that he was standing and holding his hand out expectantly. I stared at his hand, wondering what the hell he was doing.

'Take my hand,' he said, 'and go by choice.' I took a step away from him.

'I would prefer that you would choose to go,' he added with a sigh.

'And if I don't?'

'I wish not to be forced into those circumstances.' I hesitated before defiantly saying, 'I am not going with you.'

For almost a minute, we stared each other down, waiting for the other to give in. Slowly he brought his hand to his side, clenching it into a fist as he went.

His eyes glowed as he disappeared. I felt myself being lifted and thrown headfirst at the door. I flew into the chilling darkness and knew what had happened.

I was time traveling. But instead of the orange warm glow of the Order, I was met by a chilly night, filled with damp fog. When I landed, my knees and palms scraped against the brick walk. The pain was immediate, but I quickly stood and looked at the wall I had just come through. Velkan was nowhere to be seen, so I launched myself at the wall, in hopes of going back through the portal before it closed. But it was too late, and my body collided with the wall and I fell backwards to the ground.

_Oh God, I'm trapped here, in whatever this place is. And I'm all alone_.

I looked around frantically, but soon began to realize I was familiar with this place. I was in London and I was on the street that came out of the Chesterfield maze. The alley next to me was where Van Helsing had scared the crap out of me.

'Carl,' warned a familiar voice that was too far away from me to see the figure in the fog. But I knew immediately that it was Van Helsing.

I gasped. They would know what to do. I took in a deep breath-

'Va-' a hand quickly covered my mouth and pulled me into the dark alley.

I began to struggle and scream, but the figure held me tight and eventually put his fingers on either side of my throat.

'You keep screaming and I'll restrict your air,' hissed Velkan into my ear. I stopped screaming, not wanting to lose any brain cells.

I was close to tears as I watched the shadowed figures of Carl and Van Helsing walk towards the center of the alley opening. I struggled to get away, trying to make as much noise as possible to get their attention. Carl stopped in front of the alley. Van Helsing took a couple more steps before he noticed that Carl had stopped.

'What now?'

'I heard something,' Carl said slowly.

'Carl, Erica is in danger,' reminded Van Helsing. My heart leapt at the sound of my name and I attempted to make more noise.

_Van Helsing, you have no idea._

But I was soon swept off my feet and carried off by Velkan. Several blocks later, he gingerly put me down and I fell to the ground, dizzy as hell and about to puke.

Velkan was saying something, but I ignored him and attempted to stop the world from spinning. Once it did finally stop, I kneeled on the ground, trying to regain all my thought. When I did, I was so angry at Velkan that my eyes were blurred from the tears. He had stopped talking by now, apparently because he knew that I wasn't listening and he dropped a bundle in front of me.

'I took the liberty of gathering this from the box in your closet.' I knew without looking at it that it was Anna's hunting clothes. 'The alley is a dead end and deserted. You can change quickly. I'll chase away anyone who comes this way.'

'Why should I?' I asked in a low voice.

'Erica, you know that in this time period that your clothing is both uncommon and not respectable.' With this, he walked away to give me privacy. I stared at the bundle for a few seconds before I grudgingly pulled it towards me and stood to go to the dark dead end of the alley to change.

I rolled up my now ruined dress and walked back to Velkan when I had finished. He turned around when he heard me coming and looked me up and down, approvingly.

'Much better, now, let's go.'

'No. I am not going anywhere with you until you tell me what the hell is going on.'

'Do you wish for to explain it here or would you prefer some place a little safer?'

'I've a knife in my boot, Velkan, and you are a vampire. I think that between you and I, we can take care of anything, so I ain't moving.'

'Fine,' he sighed. His golden eyes shown in the hazy moonlight as he began, 'I brought you here because I need your help in saving Dracula.'

'What?' I gasped. Did he realize what he just asked me? To save the vampire who wanted me dead?

'He knows who I am, Erica, and I must speak with him.'

'Velkan, you are a Valerious, you know this. You said that you had found out your past yourself. Is that not enough to know?'

'No, there must be more. Dracula had hinted at things…'

'What things?' I was now curious as to the lies Dracula had woven for him.

'Things about my past, my future, powers that I can inherit.'

'Powers? What the-'

'Shh,' he hissed. His eyes darted around nervously. 'Someone comes.'

'Vel-' he clamped his hand over my mouth. He then pulled me deeper into the darkness. A second passed before he relaxed and released me.

'I thought you said you found your past?' He ignored me.

'It should be safe to talk to him,' he walked ahead of me, 'come.'

'No. Velkan, do you not realize the threat that Dracula poses to me and my friends?'

'I do,' he turned to me, 'but please, do this as a favor.'

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Instead of giving him an answer, I asked him, 'why do you need me to save Dracula, can't you do it?'

'You are the only one who can stop Van Helsing, prevent him from killing Dracula.'

'You realize that if I help save him that he will be able to murder all my friends including me?' There was no reply. 'Please, Velkan. You know that there is a reason that Dracula is not in the 21st century. He was meant to die. We cannot allow Van Helsing to fail. I even saw Dracula's ashes, Velkan. Please.'

'No,' he muttered, 'I must know.'

'I'll help you find what Dracula had promised, I swear,' I looked up at him and touched his face gently, 'please.' He closed his eyes and pressed my hand to his skin with his hand and tilted his head to it. He then quickly dropped my hand and picked me up bridal style. Without a word, we ran off to Von Trappe's mansion. He took a back way in that I didn't recognize and we ended up in the hall where I had first met Von Trappe. But we had been too late, Van Helsing was already engaged in battle with Dracula and he was armed with a couple of stakes that I know he had covered in werewolf saliva.

Velkan put me on the ground and let out a low growl.

'Velkan, please don't do anything stupid,' I pleaded with him as I watched Van Helsing dodge Dracula. But when I looked over to him, I saw that Velkan was gone. I turned to see him running to push Dracula out of the way as Van Helsing's stake came down. The stake hit Velkan in the chest and I saw him gasp as he fell to the ground and burst into flame. I looked at Dracula and saw him smirk at Velkan's dead body and at me. He bowed to me and then disappeared.

'Velkan,' I whispered and fell to my hands and knees. My vision was now blurry as I realized that he was dead. I heard a growl to my left and my blood turned to ice. I turned to see the werewolf version of me tear out Anastasia's throat. Suddenly, the entire body shuddered and I watched myself transform into my human self, I pleaded with Van Helsing to help me and then I yelled at them to run as I transformed back into a wolf. Van Helsing pulled out a small tube from his jacket and put a couple darts into me.

I crawled into the shadows as Carl and Van Helsing rushed over to pick up my other self. I figured that I would follow them back to the inn and sneak back through the portal after everyone had gone through.

As Van Helsing carried my unconscious body down into the Inn's storage, Carl went up the stairs to his room to get, what I presumed as, some items to make the antidote. I followed him upstairs, hiding in the shadows so that he would not see me and that I wouldn't have to explain myself to him. As I stood in the shadows outside his door, I began to think of my situation.

Dracula was now alive, seeing as Velkan switched places with him at the last moment. This meant that, unless Dracula was killed before I was born, my friends were in danger. I was in danger.

_Wow, this whole me being in danger because of him was starting to get annoying._

And yet, if Dracula was still alive when I was born, wouldn't he have attacked already? It didn't really make any sense.

I had to talk to Carl, get a vial of that time travel stuff and go back to the future where I would defeat Dracula before he could get to my friends. Hmmm….sounds simple enough, isn't it?


	2. A New Problem

**A New Problem**

I approached the door and prepared myself to knock on the door, trying to relate any possible problems that this could cause. When I found none, the door suddenly opened.

'Erica,' Carl's eyes widened and he gasped.

'Carl, it's not what you think, let me explain. Please, let's go back into the room,' I said, trying to usher him back in without letting anyone hear me. He backed in, warily. I knew what he was thinking.

'Carl, the moon is out right now and I'm still human. I'm no longer a werewolf.' Carl seemed to understand and he allowed me to close the door behind us. I quickly explained my situation to him and he froze.

'But we killed Dracula…'

'No, that would have been Velkan you killed, as I had explained.'

'I must tell Van Helsing…'

'No, there's not time,' I told him. 'Please, give me a vial to get back to the future. I have to stop Dracula before he hurts me or my friends.'

'But wait for Van Helsing, he will want to hear it from you,' Carl insisted.

'No. Please, Carl, give me the vial so that I may go. Just tell him that he needs to get to my time period or kill Dracula before it.'

'No.'

'Carl-"

'Carl said no,' said a deep voice behind me. I jumped and turned to see Van Helsing behind us, standing in the doorway.

_I hadn't heard the door open. _

'Erica, what are you doing up here?' he asked as he walked into the room and closed the door. His hand was in his pocket, grasping a weapon of some sort. I sighed and quickly explained to Van Helsing the situation; his reaction wasn't quite like Carl's and he took his empty hand out of his pocket. He seemed to know that Dracula survived.

'You knew Dracula survived?' I asked.

'If I did…' began Van Helsing.

'You mean to tell me that you knew that I was in danger in my time and that you sent me off without any warning?'

'Well, I guess that officially, Dracula had been killed when you went home before this,' said Carl. 'Seeing as Velkan was the one who dragged you back here and switched places with him, Van Helsing hadn't lied to you.'

'But was he going to tell me this time?' I asked, looking at Van Helsing.

'Should I go and tell the other you?' he asked. Our gazes met and I could tell that he was testing me.

'Don't do it now,' I grumbled, 'since I now know what the hell is going on.'

'Well, as I see it,' Van Helsing walked towards the window to look out it, 'I do everything that you have just told me to do and then, after you and your friends leave, I go with you to your time in order to defeat Dracula.'

'But it may be too late,' I objected.

'It won't be, you're here and alive, aren't you?' he reassured me before turning to Carl, 'get to work on that antidote. Erica, you stay here and out of the way.'

And for once, I didn't complain. I knew that in order to make it so that everyone was safe, I needed to be patient and do as I was told. Van Helsing left the room as Carl turned to me and asked, 'any idea as to how I can make this antidote?'

I thought back to what they had told me when they had given me it and recited the ingredients, 'Silver nitrate, sulfate, Van Helsing's blood.'

'Van Helsing's blood?' asked Carl, appalled as I was when I found out the same thing.

'You had said that it was for the antidote that was still in his system.' Carl nodded slowly and set to work making the potion as I prayed that I had told him right. I knew that if I told him wrong then I was dead.

A few hours later, the antidote was given to the past me and, since I was still alive, I assumed the antidote worked. It seemed like forever before the other me left and Van Helsing and Carl came to retrieve me from his room. Van Helsing had a large bag with him which was full of hunting materials.

Without saying a word, Carl threw another vial at the wall and we walked into the portal and into my bedroom. Velkan and I were gone by then and it looked as though it were fifteen minutes later than that (at least, according to the clock).

'Erica', called a voice from my door and the door opened as Marie opened the door and looked in. 'What the…'

'Is she ready yet?' asked a voice in the hallway as Derek poked his head into the room. His eyes got big as he saw them.

'We've got problems,' I explained.

'I can tell,' said Marie looking pointedly at Van Helsing, 'how did they get here?'

'I went and got them because Dracula is still alive,' I said quickly.

'But they killed him. They said that they killed him,' said Marie.

'There was a little mishap,' I said, 'I guess I probably should explain this to everyone.' Marie nodded and I went past her and into the living room where James was. Once all of us were in there, I began to explain what had just happened.

'He was dead, though, wasn't he?' asked Derek.

'So we had thought, but Velkan going back changes everything,' I said.

'We are all in danger, aren't we?' asked Marie. I looked at her, surprised. Her voice betrayed her feelings to me; she was truly afraid. I had never seen her so afraid except for when she was 4 and had these horrible nightmares, otherwise, she had been so strong; that is up until now. It almost frightened me.

'Yes,' I said in a low voice, 'but it'll be alright. That's why these two are here.' I motioned to Carl and Van Helsing.

'We'll find him before he finds us,' Van Helsing reassured us. He then turned to Carl and said, 'let's contact the Order.'

'Wait, how can you be sure that the Order even exists anymore?' I asked. Van Helsing paused before saying, 'we don't. But we can try.'

'How are you going to get there?' I asked. Something irked me when they said that they had to go to the Order for this. 'Can't you track him, yourself?' Van Helsing shook his head.

'There is no way I can. We can only search the papers to find a series of strange murders somewhere,' commented Carl.

'The Government would cover it up,' said James. We all looked at him, wondering where this had come from. He blushed lightly and shrugged. 'It's like with aliens; wouldn't they do this with vampire deaths too?'

'Carl, how much of that potion do you have with you, the time travel stuff?' asked Derek.

'A few vials, why?' He answered. I was confused, why would Derek ask about the potion?

'If what Erica says is right, those potions can take you to any place you want, correct?'

'Yes, I suppose it can.'

'What about time period?' Carl hesitated before nodding.

'But where would he be?' asked Van Helsing. He seemed to have caught on. I was still in the dark. Derek and Van Helsing's eyes connected and they smiled as they said, 'Transylvania.'

'It makes perfect sense,' added Carl.

'What does? What the hell are you three talking about?' I asked.

'That potion. It can take us to any point in time in the world. We can use it to get to one of his castles in Romania,' Derek explained.

'What about his ice castle? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to go there?' I asked. Van Helsing nodded.

'We should split up,' he said.

'What?' I asked. But my voice wasn't alone. I could hear Marie's added to it.

'Two of us go to the Valerious castle in Transylvania, two to the Frankenstein and two to his ice fortress,' he clarified.

'No,' I objected. I grabbed his arm and pulled him off into the kitchen and closed the door for privacy. I turned to face Van Helsing and said, 'I'm not putting them into any danger.'

'They already are.'

'Not in more danger.'

'You already have.' A fire ignited deep in my stomach and I prepared myself for an argument that I intended to win. I stood taller and positioned myself just a few feet from him. He was still taller than me but I looked directly into his eyes and said in a guarded voice, 'if I have to search two castles alone, I will do so. But I will not allow them to be put into danger. Dracula is after me. He only really knows about me. I want it to stay that way.'

'Erica, their knowledge of the situation, the fact that they have been to my time period, puts them in danger. The fact that you know them, are around them, puts them in danger with Dracula. Don't you think they have a right to fight?' His voice was louder at the end. I was sure that they could probably hear it in the living room.

'Not if it means that they might get hurt.' I said right back, matching his voice

'And you don't care if you get hurt?' He voice seemed louder.

My voice softened, 'As long as my sister doesn't sound like she did in there, so afraid. As long as the ones I care for are safe. I do not care.'

'Don't be a martyr, Erica,' he growled. I turned around and headed to the door back to the living room. Van Helsing grabbed my arm and pulled me back around to face him.

'Let me go,' I growled, not looking at him.

'Look at me,' he said. I closed my eyes and pointedly looked away. He grabbed my other arm and shook me and growled, 'look at me.'

'Van Helsing, don't involve them. Leave them out of it. I'm going to go and get some stuff out of my room for our trip. I will be leaving, with or without you.'

'No.'

'No?' I looked up at him, surprised.

'I don't want you to go either.'

'What are you talking about?'

'It is my duty to protect you, Erica. I need to kill Dracula myself. You are to stay here.'

'No! Van Helsing, don't you get it? He's after me. I know he is. I have to get away from them, to protect them, as you had said. I am going with you, no matter what you say.' I pulled my arm out of his hand and went to the door. I felt his hand on my shoulder and I turned around to tell him where to go and I was sprayed in the face with some type of liquid. Within seconds, I felt light headed and the room began to spin. I closed my eyes as I fell limp.


	3. After Prom

**After Prom**

'He shouldn't have left her like this,' said Derek.

'You know how stubborn Erica can be,' explained Marie, 'apparently he thought that this was the best for her. So that he can leave to do the business he came to do without her interference. It's for her safety.'

I opened my eyes slowly and saw Derek sitting next to me on the couch. I was lying down with a blanket covering me and a pillow under my head. Marie was sitting in the love-seat, next to James.

'How long have I been out?' I asked. I closed my eyes again, wincing as a burning sensation hit them.

'For an hour,' replied Derek. I opened my now watering eyes and sat up. Derek moved out of the way so that I could sit up completely.

'Where are they?' I asked, looking around. I saw Marie bite her lower lip and she looked to Derek. I followed her gaze and added, 'what are you hiding from me?'

'Van Helsing and Carl went to search the castles; they left shortly after you were knocked out.'

'Where were the portals?' I asked. When no one answered, I growled and stood. 'Where are they?'

'In the kitchen, against the door,' answered Derek. I hurried to the door and tried to see if the portal could possibly be open. It wasn't.

'Erica,' said Derek in a soft voice. He was next to me and put a comforting arm around my shoulders. 'Van Helsing had said it was safer for us to stay here. That he would take care of Dracula and that there was no way that Dracula could know that you are here.' I pushed his arm away and rushed to my bedroom. I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, sliding to the floor.

_What was wrong with me? That was a childish thing to do, running off because I got left behind. But it was still unfair for them to leave me. I could have attracted Dracula to them and this could have been over. _I sat there fuming for a moment. _Hell, even Velkan was able to find me after all these years. _I froze as another thought entered my mind. _If Velkan could find me, then what's to say that Dracula couldn't? I had told Von Trappe where I was from, the 21__st__ century, United States. Dracula probably could have heard it from him….What if he was watching me right now?_ I shuddered and glanced around the darkened room. I quickly turned on the light, as though it were some type of protection against him, as if I shied away the darkness, then he couldn't come near me. I knew I was wrong, but this idea seemed to come along with my childish antics.

'Erica,' called Marie softly through the door as she tapped her knuckles on it, 'let me in. Let's talk. Please?' I sat there for a few seconds before I stood and unlocked the door. I heard her try the knob and she came in. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

'What is it, Marie?'

'Are you scared?' Her voice was barely more than a whisper. It seemed as though she wasn't actually asking me this question, but trying to confirm that it was alright to feel this way. I met her eyes and saw the fear in them. I felt guilty, like I was at fault so I couldn't answer, I wasn't sure; the guilt seemed to overrun my ability to feel fear. I took a step towards her and she hurried to me and threw her arms around me. I returned her hug. I felt her shake in my arms as she began to cry.

'Shhh, it's alright. You'll be fine, nothing will happen to you. I promise everything will be fine.' I heard her say something, but it was muffled. I looked at her as she lifted her head.

'I'm not afraid for us,' she gasped. 'I'm afraid because I don't want to lose you.'

'What?' I was surprised. Why was she afraid for me?'

'Van Helsing had said something before he left, he said it to Derek.' She took in a deep breath to control herself and said, 'he told him to make sure you were protected.' I froze. _Why would Van Helsing say this to him? Did he know that I would go after Dracula myself, or that Dracula would come for me?_

'Did he say anything else, Marie?' She shook her head as she wiped her eyes.

'Why would he say this, Erica, is there something we don't know? What aren't you telling us?' Her eyes pleaded with me for the truth. But my protective instinct told me to lie, tell her everything was alright.

'I'm not sure what's all going on, sis. When I figure it out, I'll let you know.' I glanced at the clock and gently smiled, 'we better get going.'

She suddenly looked confused.

'I can't let my little sis miss her first after-prom party. It's the best part,' I gave her another brief hug and released her to say, 'now I better get dressed for it. Tell the guys that we'll be leaving in a few minutes.'

She sniffed and nodded, her eyes seemed to brighten up. My smile widened as she nodded and headed for the door. I closed it and quickly changed into the shirt and pair of pants that I had originally planned on wearing.

We arrived at the after-prom at about 2 a.m., with two hours to play in the multiple games there. Our first game was a giant blow-up maze for laser tag. It ended up being Derek, James, Marie, Courtney, Jen, Kait, and me, one versus all. We were given guns and shoved our ways through the opening and into the darkened maze. Derek pulled me off to the side as everyone ran to hide before the game started, and kissed me good luck before he ran off himself. I crouched down where I was as the buzzer sounded, signaling the beginning the game.

I was soon found by Derek and he grinned as he took aim at me. I ran off into the maze, trying to lose him, while shooting at others that I passed. I could hear screams throughout the maze and dings as the shots hit their targets. It wasn't too long into the game when I heard a scream that sent shivers down my spine. I knew right off that it was Jen. As I replayed the events that had already happened that night, I ran in the direction that I heard the scream. It seemed to take forever before I found her.

A dark figure had her tipped over and it had its face buried in her neck. My blood froze as I began to recognize who it was.

'Release her,' I growled. When there was no response, I took a step forward and aimed my gun at him (he didn't know that it was fake, did he?). 'Let her go!'

The head lifted and I gasped as I stared into the face of Septimus. _I had expected Dracula._ His long blonde hair was shaggy but was still long enough to cover his long face. His golden eyes glowed as he smiled at me. Slowly he set Jen back on her feet and she ran to me, launching herself into my arms. I looked down at her and saw the intensity of fear in her blue eyes as they stared back into mine. She buried herself into my shoulder and began to cry. I took her by the shoulders and made her look up at me.

'Get out of here, Jen. Get everyone else out of here too. It's too dangerous. Do you understand me?' She swallowed and nodded. I released her and she took off into the dark maze. I made sure that she was gone before I turned back to the vampire.

'It's been a while, Septimus.'

'I couldn't believe it unless I saw it with me own eyes,' he smiled, looking me up and down. 'How is it that in over a hundred years, you haven't changed a bit?'

'Why are you here?' I asked. I didn't want to answer any unnecessary questions.

'My master sent me.'

'Von Trappe is dead, Septimus. Who do you serve now?'I had this odd feeling that I already knew the answer to my question.

'Dracula.' Despite me expecting this answer, the mere sound of his name froze me.

'What does he want?' Septimus held out his hand.

'He wishes to give you his thanks in person, for saving him.'

'Wha-' my mind flashed back to when Velkan had been staked. Dracula had seen me, and bowed. The smirk on his face made me shudder as a strong burning hatred ran through me.

'Why don't you tell your master to screw off, in those exact words?' Septimus frowned.

'He would wish to hear it from you in person.' I let out a low growl as I pointed the gun at him again.

'Leave me alone, or I'll shoot.' He looked at the gun and laughed. Then he lunged himself at me and grabbed me before I could get away. He leaned me backwards and looked into my eyes.

'Relax, Princess, no harm will come to you.' I struggled to get away, but his iron grip only tightened, pushing all the air out of my lungs. I gasped for air, but couldn't get any. My eyes met his and my entire body froze as I got lost into them. Everything suddenly seemed so insignificant, so dreamlike. And then, I fell asleep.


	4. Not You Again!

**Not You Again!**

I opened my eyes to see total darkness. At first, I thought that I was still dreaming, but when I touched my hand to my face, I found that I was simply blindfolded. I peeled off the blindfold and looked around my surroundings. I was sitting in a chair, next to a lit fireplace. I was momentarily blinded by having to stare directly into the fire, but I blinked that away and glanced around to find myself in a library. I frowned.

_Where in the hell was I?_

'Hello, Princess,' said a voice in the room. It seemed to come from all around me and I was frightened when I couldn't pinpoint it. But I could recognize it. I let out a low growl as it sent shivers down my spine.

'Hello, Dracula, did you miss me?' I asked, tauntingly. I had to show that I wasn't afraid of him.

'As a matter of fact, I did.' Suddenly he appeared right next to me, his hand placed on the head rest of my plush armchair. I jumped slightly, but silently scolded myself. I carefully stood to face him and offered a sarcastic smile.

'Really?' He smiled, showing his slightly pointed fangs.

'I had to thank you for saving me from Van Helsing all those years ago, but when I went to search for you to offer my thanks personally, you had disappeared.' He chuckled lightly as he took a step towards me and I positioned myself on the opposite side of the chair.

'Now it seems to me,' he continued, 'that you are either immortal or you are a mere mortal capable of time travel. Seeing as your heart continues to beat sweet blood through your veins, it must be the second.'

'What do you want, Dracula?'

'Impatient, aren't we?' I raised my eyebrows as a sign to continue. He took a step closer to me and said, 'Gabriel. That's all I want. And it seems to me that he is connected to you.'

This surprised me. I mean, it made sense that he wanted Gabriel/Van Helsing, but how did he figure that we were connected in some way?

'I'm a bit confused. How is it that I am connected to Van Helsing?'

'There was a reason as to why you were sent back in time to try to save the Valerious line and to how you gotten back to London too. And now, I figure, it is Gabriel's turn to save you.'

'How do you even know that he'll know that I'm in trouble? Plus, technically, you are supposed to be dead.'

'Thanks to you, I'm not.'

'He won't come for me,' I said, ignoring his comment.

'He would if you are in trouble.' He took another step towards me and put his hand to my face. I flinched, expecting him to attack or kill me. 'He has three days to rescue you. If he doesn't come, like you say he won't, and then you become mine. I figure this is a fair enough deal; three days for three brides.'

'Are you going to let him know that you have me?' I asked, it sounded more like a plead than a question when it reached my ears.

'It is the great Van Helsing,' he smiled, 'he will know once he sees that you are gone.'

'Where am I? What castle is it? Budapest? Frankenstein? The Ice Fortress?' He started to laugh again. This answered my question. It was none of them.

'You are in castle and that is all that you need to know.' He headed for the door and as soon as he reached it, he turned to say, 'you are most welcome to search the home. Choose a room that you like best, you may be staying here for longer than you think.'

'Wait! Don't you think that it's unfair if Van Helsing doesn't know where this castle is located?' Dracula smiled deviously.

'Whoever said that all was fair in love and war?' And with this, he left the room, closing the door behind him. I collapsed back into the chair and thought of my current predicament, and was nearly to tears as I realized-

_I'm probably going to die here. No saying goodbye to Marie, or my friends, or Derek, or Van Helsing, or any of them. What would everyone think when I disappear? What about my parents?_

This sent shivers down my spine as I thought of how my parents would react. These are the people that I love that are the only ones left who have no idea of what is going on around them; oblivious to the world of the supernatural.

_What would they say when they find out that I was murdered by a vampire? _

The worried look on Marie's face and what she had told me in my bedroom, just before we had left. How Van Helsing had told Derek to make sure I was protected…did Van Helsing know the danger I was in? But if Van Helsing didn't know where I was to save me, I would have to stop playing the damsel in distress and become my own hero.

I stood up from the chair and made my way to the door. It opened and I found myself at the end of a very long and narrow hallway. I hurried down it, hoping to find a door that could possibly lead to the outside. At the end of the hall was another door, which opened to a set of stairs that led up. I took them and came to yet another door. This one opened to a giant empty ballroom. I knew that there had to be a way out from here. Why else would someone build a ballroom if it didn't have easy access for the guests from the outside?

I ran for the nearest doors and opened them to find another large room, an entrance. If I was right, the doors that I faced now were my ticket to the outside. As I ran towards them, all I could think was how easy this was.

Of course it was easy…the doors were locked tight. I fumbled with the locks and got all the ones that I could see, but the doors still wouldn't budge. This is when I noticed that there was a latch high up on the door, a good ten feet off the ground and well out of my reach. I glanced around my surroundings, hoping to find a chair, a poker or something. When I found a large chair a good twenty feet away, I hurried to it. It was heavy, but I managed to carry it to the door without making too much racket. When I stood on it, I could barely reach the latch, but with a jump, I got it. I jumped off the chair and pulled at the door again, this time it opened. I was ready to run out when I found that the doorway was boarded up.

I put my hand on it, needing to touch it in order to reassure myself that it was real. That I wasn't dreaming…was I?

Behind me I heard clapping that echoed in the room.

'Bravo, Erica,' boomed Dracula, 'you almost made it.'

Tears clouded my eyes as I turned to see Dracula standing ten feet away. I took in a deep calming breath and said, 'screw off, Dracula.' I walked past him, but he caught my arm. I tried to wrench my arm out of his grasp but he held tighter.

'You won't be able to escape, Erica. Try as much as you would like, in fact I invite you to, it's amusing. But keep in mind, there are other occupants in this house that won't be as kind as I am.' I looked at him warily, wondering what other "occupants" were in this house other than him and I.

'We aren't alone?' I asked. He chuckled.

'My servants. All vampires, I'm not risking death by werewolf this time.'

'Damn, now who am I to play fetch with now,' I replied sarcastically.

'You may have an eternity to find a replacement.' This made me shiver, as it reminded me of my impending fate.

'Don't worry, I will.' At this, I turned on my heel to walk away. I didn't know exactly where I was going, but I decided to head up the stairs to do as he had told me to, to find a bedroom.

I searched the rooms on the second and third floors, hoping to find one that I liked. The one I found was a very open room with multiple windows. Most were boarded up, but I was able to get some light to come through when I opened them. A large canopy bed took up a large portion of the room. A redwood wardrobe was against the bedroom wall, and when I opened it, I was surprised to find several old dresses that looked as though they were from the turn of the century. A small fireplace stood in one corner, but when I went to inspect it, I found that the top of the chimney was barred.

I frowned, I had hoped that that would be my way out.

'There is no way out, Princess,' said a voice from the door. I turned to see Septimus.

'Are you sure?' I asked, sarcastically, 'because I would love to prove you wrong.' He smiled.

'I barred everything myself.' I frowned.

'So you have the key to getting out?' I asked. He shook his head.

'Dracula has the key, he is the only one.'

'Why are you following him now? Don't you want to be your own person?' He shrugged.

'Servitude is the only thing I have ever known.'

'Freedom is so much better,' I said. I figured if I could get anyone on my side in this house that I could maybe get out before they get hungry. 'You get to choose what to do, when to do it. You don't have to do other's dirty work.'

'You only say this because you want your freedom,' he smirked.

'I say this because I enjoy my freedom. I don't want become a slave to Dracula.'

'He's not a bad master, I have had worse. Von Trappe was far worse.'

'Von Trappe was more compassionate towards me.' I grumbled.

'Only until he made you into his bride.'

'Tell me, Septimus, does Dracula want me to be his bride?' He chuckled.

'I thought you knew that answer.'

'Last time I knew he wanted me as his bride. But now I'm not so sure.'

'It's to get back at Van Helsing,' he reassured me.

'So, you are going to let him get revenge on Van Helsing by murdering me?' My voice went higher and louder at this.

'Death isn't so horrible once you get used to it.'

'But it makes me a murderer as well. I don't want to be a murderer.' The face of Anna accusing me of being her murderer, the same that haunted my dreams, appeared in my mind and I shuddered.

'You don't have to kill your victims.' He reassured me. 'Look at yourself, you have been bitten multiple times, yet have not been killed nor changed.' I began to cry. I couldn't help it. Everything seemed so hopeless now.

'Are you alright, Princess?' I heard him take a step towards me. I buried my face into my hands and sat onto the bed. I sobbed as I felt him sit down next to me and hesitantly put his hand around my shoulder. As soon as his arm was around my shoulder, I stopped crying and wiped the tears away as I looked him in the eyes.

'Has Dracula informed Van Helsing as to where I am?' He shook his head. 'Then I'm not alright. Dracula has more or less attempted to give me false hope. I don't want to be a vampire. I want to be a normal teenager!'

'Everything shall turn as fate has deemed it,' he muttered. It was supposed to reassure me, but it didn't. He stood up and headed for the door, he paused as he said, 'if this is your choice for your chambers, than I shall have it cleaned.' And he left.

I sat on the bed for a while, thinking of my now hopeless situation. I knew that I had to escape, the question was how. Septimus had said that Dracula had the key, maybe I could get it from him. I would have to be sneaky…very sneaky.

_Or I could attempt to tear the boards off of the windows. _

I closed the bedroom door, knowing that when I began to hit the boards, it would create noise. I hoped that this would muffle it enough to where I wouldn't get caught. I headed for the first window and began to push against each separate board. None gave away so I moved to the next window. It was finally the fourth window out of seven when one side of a board came loose. I was able to push this board aside and began to push at other ones. Soon I was able to push off two boards and was able to poke my head out to see how far the drop was. It was a lot farther than I anticipated, seeing as this side of the castle seemed to have been built on a precipice and there was probably a three foot area of solid ground from the edge. I took in a deep breath, figuring that it was this or death. Death was probably inevitable either way, and I think I would prefer this over being changed. I quickly ran to the bed and stripped the bedding and tight it tightly into a rope. I then tied this to the canopy and hurried to throw it out the window. I climbed out the window, slipping through the small opening between the boards. I quickly shimmied down the rope, hoping that it wouldn't tear and that I would fall to my death. I was happy once my feet touched the ground without incident.

The sun was just beginning to rise once I made my way around to the front of the castle. I breathed a sigh of relief at this sight, knowing that vampires can't venture out in the light. I hurried down the path from the front of the castle and into a village a good two miles downhill. Once I reached it, I found that the markets were already teaming with people. And they were speaking British-accented English. My heart jumped for joy as I asked the nearest person as to where I was. They happily told me that I was on the northern part of England, along the eastern coast. I then asked for a phone and I was pointed towards a small pub at the end of the village. I hurried towards it, at least as fast as I could without drawing attention to myself. Once I found the pay phone, I was able to pay with the few dollars that I kept with me always in case of emergency (luckily the bartender was able to exchange my money into European pounds and such). I then dialed my home number.

It seemed to take forever before a familiar voice answered.

'Marie,' I breathed.

'Erica, oh my god, you're alive!' she gasped.

'Listen, I don't have much time, I'm being held in the northern part of England, along the eastern coast. He's in a deserted castle that's been boarded up. I have managed to escape, but once the sun goes down they'll find me. Tell Van Helsing that he has to find me within the next two days.'

'Why the next two days?' I really didn't want to tell her why, it would only worry her.

'Just tell him, ok?' I insisted as the line went dead and a voice came over the line saying that I had to deposit more coins in order to continue the call. I walked to the counter to the bartender.

'Could you do me a favor?' I asked. He picked up a glass from the counter and began to wipe it clean. He nodded. 'There will be a guy coming through here in the next day or two and he'll be asking about me. Could you please point him up to the castle on the hill. He'll know what you are talking about.' I paused as I went through everything I said in my mind, making sure that Van Helsing would understand. 'My name is Erica. Could you do that for me, please? It's urgent.' He nodded and I left the pub, hoping that he would remember when the time came.

I then hurried off down the road, in an attempt to get as far away from the castle as possible. When nightfall came, I wanted to be able to find a good hiding spot. If Dracula wanted me as his prisoner, he was going to fight me for my freedom.

I found a decent walking stick with me as I walked down the road, searching for an adequate place to hide. The day quickly passed and as the sun neared it setting place, I found a good place, an abandoned cottage, to hide in. The entire inside was completely bare, including any sign of life for the past ten years excluding spiders. I barred the door and sat there with my pointy stick, waiting for Dracula and his cronies to swoop down on me.

As I sat in my little corner, armed with the stick, I kept dozing off as I attempted to listen for noises around me. A bird or some other animal would make a sound and I would quickly snap out of it. I would glance around and attempt to stay awake but would doze off anyway. It had to be nearly three in the morning when I finally heard something attempting to open the door. My heart began to pound and I slowly stood, holding the stick in front of me like a lance, readying to ram it into the heart of anyone that came in.

Someone kicked at the door; once, twice and it began to splinter. On the third the door swung open and three pale men stepped in. The first smelt the air and a smirk covered his face as he turned to face me.

'You travelled far in little time, young one,' he commented. I held the stick in front of me as he took a step towards me. He laughed as he grabbed the end and yanked it out of my hands. I took off for the door but was intercepted before I could even take two steps towards it. As soon as the hand grabbed my arm, I turned around and punched my captor in the face. It was like hitting marble, but the adrenaline running through my veins prevented me from feeling the pain for now. I kicked him in the groin and he released me and I ran for the door again. He grabbed me again and let out a low growl.

I struggled to get out of his grasp and he growled, 'settle down, wench, before I bite you.'

'Just make sure you kill me,' I said under my breath as I attempted to wrench my arm out of his grasp. He smirked and grabbed a handful of my hair and jerked my head to the side until I thought it would break and he bit into my neck. I gasped as the pain replaced my adrenaline rush. It was soon before darkness overtook me.


	5. Another Change

**Another Change**

When I awoke, something didn't feel right. I didn't have the usual hang-over that I remember having whenever I had been bitten. In fact, I felt fine. Better than fine; almost superhuman. This is when I began to freak out. I sat up in the bed I was laying in and was surprised to find myself in a very unfamiliar place. Sitting next to me was-

'Van Helsing?' He looked at me and I could see that something was wrong. Several images flashed before my eyes. I saw myself in pain, all alone, in the bedroom that I had chosen in Dracula's manor. And I suddenly knew. I had been changed. I began to cry.

'Erica,' he whispered as he sat next to me and placed his arm around my shoulder. I buried my face into it. My nose was suddenly bombarded with all these new smells, his sweat, and scent, as well as the coppery smell of blood. My mouth began to water and I freaked out and pushed Van Helsing away and went to the far side of the room. He looked up at me, surprised.

'Erica, are you alright?' He stood to come towards me.

'Stay where you are,' I warned him. He froze in his steps. I ran my fingers through my hair and asked, 'what happened? Is Dracula dead?'

'No, he got away.' My heart seemed to drop when he said this.

'I'm curious, what happened? How did you find me?'

'You were exactly where the bartender said you were. You were in the castle up on the hill. We found you in the bedroom on the third story and it was daytime so we didn't come across any vampires. You were unconscious so we carried you here, to this inn. You've been here for almost three days now.'

'I'm a vampire,' I said in a low voice, 'how long did it take for you to find me once I called Marie.'

'We found you at the end of day two.'

'It would have been too late anyway,' I felt the tears well up in my eyes as I asked the most feared question, 'what of me?'

'I won't kill you. You've done nothing wrong,' he replied. This surprised me.

'But I will, I will be a murderer!'

'Until then, I can do nothing.'

'What can I do, I don't want to kill anyone.' At this, Carl walked into the bedroom. Our eyes met and he dropped the tray of food in his hand and it clattered to the floor.

'Your eyes,' he gasped. I closed my eyes and turned. The expression on his face hurt me because he looked at me as though I was a monster. It was more fear than when I was a werewolf.

'Is there a cure?' I asked. Van Helsing looked to Carl, who was too busy staring at me.

'Carl?' said Van Helsing and he snapped out of his daze.

'No, the vampire change kills the body. The werewolf one at least kept the body alive, up until the full moon at midnight. There is no cure.'

'I guess I had better get used to this, I have an eternity,' I sighed, 'there has to be a way around drinking human blood, though.'

'There have been reports of vampires drinking animal blood,' suggested Van Helsing. I nodded, inwardly cringing at the thought. My stomach growled at the thought of blood.

'I'll have to try that,' I replied. I glanced at the window and found that the sun was nearly set. 'I'm going out.' I headed for the door and before anyone could object, I was outside again.

I ran into the forest surrounding the village we had been in, hoping to find some type of comfort in being alone. I found a fallen tree and sat on it and began to cry, mourning my death. Within seconds, I heard a stick crack. I looked up and found a rabbit crouched nearby, staring at me. My stomach grumbled. I sighed, knowing that I had to eat something.

I slowly stood and lunged at the rabbit. I caught it quickly and then tore into its neck as hunger over took me. Within seconds, the rabbit was dead and I dropped it as I realized what I had done. I slowly wiped my face with the back of my hand and looked at the blood now on my hand.

My stomach turned and I brought up nearly all the blood I had just drunk. I sat on the tree again and curled up into a ball as I began to cry again at what I had become.

'Erica?' called a voice in the darkness. I wiped my eyes and listened as footsteps came near. I sniffed and caught a whiff of Carl.

'Over here,' I called out, standing up to walk towards him. I made sure that he saw me coming, so that I wouldn't scare him.

'Where is Van Helsing?' I asked.

'Searching for you.'

'You found me. Head back to the inn, I'll find him,' I offered. He nodded and turned around.

It was then I decided to test out my new-found powers. I closed my eyes and listened to the woods around me. I could hear Carl shuffling away, and footsteps far away. They had to be him. I turned and hurried through the woods to him. I called out his name and when I heard him call out back, I carefully came towards him, knowing that he would be carrying a weapon and would know how to use it.

When I approached him, I noticed the crossbow he held in his hand. He looked at me, noticing the blood on me and frowned.

'Rabbit,' I explained. He nodded and his expression softened. 'You wanted to talk to me?'

'Do you remember when we were in the maze and you had broken your ankle, the offer I had made to you?' I frowned as I flipped through my memory bank. I couldn't recall anything. I shook my head.

'What?'

'I had asked if you had ever thought of becoming a full-time slayer.'

'That was an offer?' I now remembered what he was talking about. He smirked.

'It is now.'

_I could kill Dracula, make my family safe…_

'Yes, of course.' He nodded.

'Come on, we need to get you some nutrition. You can feed off of me.' I shook my head, almost horrified at the thought that I could get carried away.

'I'll catch me a rabbit or two more,' I replied.

'Just get back to the Inn before dawn. We'll be waiting for you in the room.' I nodded and he left as I went hunting to get me more food before I headed back.

Van Helsing was still awake when I entered the bedroom, while Carl was softly snoring on the bed.

'You look tired,' I commented. He shrugged.

'We need to start your training as soon as possible.' I nodded.

'I would like to see my family before we start though, so I can explain everything to my parents.'

'We'll do that first then,' he nodded.

'How did you get here anyway?' I asked. Curiosity suddenly struck me and I really wanted to know.

'We used one of Carl's time traveling potions.'

'How many does he have left?' I asked.

'A few.' I suddenly got an idea.

'What if, when we find Dracula and kill him, we go back in time to prevent me from being turned into a vampire?'

'You would be a vampire when you killed Dracula; most likely you will use your powers to defeat him. It would be futile. You'd have to kill Dracula again as a human and probably wouldn't survive.'

'What if I go back again and prevent Velkan from taking Dracula's spot.'

'And have you take Velkan's with the stake?'

'No.' I frowned, 'what if I go back and prevent Von Trappe from resurrecting Dracula?'

'But he changed you back into a human after your first bout with the werewolf.'

'I could find the syringe and do it myself.'

'No,' he shook his head. I was starting to get frustrated. Every idea I had that involved me being able to return to my human self was being shot down.

'Any ideas then, on how I can defeat Dracula and become human again?'

'You can't do both, Erica.'

'I can and I will,' I argued. I flopped down into the chair next to Van Helsing. Not wanting to continue to argue with him, I added, 'you best get to sleep that way we can go to my home and begin training.'

He eyed me for a moment, trying to figure out if I had something up my sleeve, when he determined that I didn't, he leaned back into the chair, folded his arms across his chest and fell asleep.

I couldn't sleep, my mind was so active with everything that was going on (I wasn't sure that Vampires could sleep anyway). So I sat in the chair, thinking up all possible scenarios on how I could get everything that I wanted.

It seemed like a very long time before Carl and Van Helsing woke up. It was only mid-afternoon, which meant that I was still trapped inside the building. Carl left to get food while Van Helsing went to the bathroom to "freshen up".

'I was thinking, Van Helsing,' I said loudly so that he could hear me. The door was open and he was shaving his face. I stood in the doorway and leaned against the frame. 'If Carl has enough of the potion, why couldn't we try all my ideas until we get one right?'

'You really are intent on remaining human, aren't you?' He looked at me in the mirror, but when he didn't see my reflection, he frowned slightly and went back to shaving.

'I had plans, you know. They all involved me remaining human too. I wanted to go to college, start a career, start a family, and grow old with the ones I love.'

'Rarely does that happen,' he commented. 'Even the most perfect story doesn't have all that.'

'Mine could have been different, you never know.' I sighed, 'anyway, what do you say to my proposal?' He turned on the water and rinsed his face before grabbing the hand towel to dry it off.

'I suppose that it couldn't hurt,' he mused. I smiled as he turned around. He did a double take at my face and took a step back.

'What?'

'Don't do that again, your eyes and teeth.' I frowned.

'I'll try not to.' I suddenly caught a whiff of blood and froze. I looked for the place it came from and found that there was a small drop of blood on Van Helsing's cheek. I held my breath and hurried to the opposite side of the room. I heard Van Helsing curse as he tore off a piece of toilet paper and dabbed it onto the small cut.

'Will you be alright?' he called from the bathroom.

'I think so,' I replied as he stepped into the room. I slowly breathed, trying not to think of blood.

At this, Carl came back with sandwiches, in which he and Van Helsing enjoyed. I took a bite of one, out of curiosity, and found that it tasted like ash in my mouth. I spat it out quickly and sat across the room and watched them enviously.

After they finished, we prepared to leave. Carl checked us out of the room and we headed back to my home by the potion. The portal opened in my bedroom and Van Helsing hurried to close the shades that brought in the early afternoon sun. I was gracious for this, because I could already feel the light on my skin and it was uncomfortably warm.

I led the way into the hallway, listening for noises. It seemed that no one was home. I walked into the living room and saw that the small day calendar on our entertainment center showed that it was Friday, almost a week since prom.

'What time will your parents be home?' asked Carl.

'Around five-thirty; Marie should be here soon, in an hour or so,' I replied, glancing up at the clock.

'What will you tell them?'

'The truth,' I replied, feeling suddenly nervous about it.

'Think they'll believe you?' asked Van Helsing.

'Hope so.'

We sat for the next hour and a half, waiting for my sister to come home. When she did, she wasn't alone. James came with her, as did Derek.

'Maybe they called,' suggested Marie as she walked in the door. She hurried to the answering machine in the kitchen before calling out, 'none.'

'I hope they're alright,' added Derek as he, James, and Marie headed into the living room. He was the first to notice and stopped in his tracks as a look of surprise and relief flooded his face. Marie was attempting to get her backpack from James, while he held it up high. They didn't stop until Marie bumped into Derek.

'Why'd you stop?' Her eyes followed Derek's and when she saw me, it took a second for it to register. Once it did, she squealed and ran for me. I stood and hugged her, taking the precaution of holding my breath.

'I thought the worse,' she told me. 'I thought you were dead, the way you talked.' When I didn't say anything to comfort her, she looked up at me and took a step back.

'You look different,' she commented as her eyes searched me.

'That is because I am,' I said slowly in a low voice.

'No,' Derek whispered. Marie plopped down onto the love seat as she realized what I meant.

'Is there a cure?' she asked, her voice was shaking as her eyes met mine.

'For this, no,' replied Carl.

'But I'm going to reverse it,' I reassured her, 'after I defeat Dracula.'

'Carl, you need to get to work on that potion,' added Van Helsing.

'I have nothing here to make it with. Maybe we should go back to the Order and do it. You can train her there, they have the facilities.'

'Would they allow a vampire within their walls?' I asked. Van Helsing shrugged.

'How did this happen?' asked James.

Everyone took a seat, but I remained standing, keeping my distance to where I wouldn't smell anything that tempted me, and explained everything.

'You never told me that it was because of me,' said Van Helsing when I finished.

'You never asked,' I replied.

'We had better leave once you talk to your parents,' said Van Helsing, 'you might want to change into Anna's clothing.'

I looked down at the shirt and pants that I had been wearing for the past week.

'I suppose I ought to clean up, I probably look awful.' I headed for the bedroom and grabbed Anna's hunting costume and went into the bathroom to take a quickly shower and clean up. Had I had the time, I would have washed Anna's costume, because it was dirty from my last trip to London. When I got out of the shower, I brushed my hair out and headed back into the living room, surprised to find my parents already home. And they were watching Van Helsing and Carl with great scrutiny.

'Hi, mom, dad,' I said from the doorway. They looked up and smiled as my mom burst into tears. They stood up as I rushed over to meet them. Actually, probably too fast because I heard Marie gasp and my parents froze under my embrace. I let go quickly and took a few steps back as their scent began to overpower me and make my mouth water.

'Mom, dad, these are Abraham Van Helsing and Carl,' I said.

'Like the characters from the movie,' asked mom. I nodded. I expected her to ask more questions about this, but she jumped to the chase, 'where have you been for the past week?'

'Out of the country,' I replied. My parents looked at each other, I could see the anger building up in dad's eyes. So I quickly added, 'take a seat, you're going to need it.' They did as they were told and I took in a deep breath.

'I was kidnapped by vampires and I'm now one of them.' My mom suddenly looked scared.

'There are no such thing as vampires,' dad told me, 'only wierdos who think that they are.' I made sure my parents were looking me in the eyes as I flashed them into their golden color. Both paled.

'Do you need to see the fangs?' I asked and they shook their heads. 'I only came back to tell you not to worry.'

'You are leaving us, aren't you?' asked Marie. I turned to her.

'It's the only way I can do everything I need to.' I turned back to my parents and offered a small smile, 'I'll miss you.'

'You aren't going, and certainly not with these two,' growled dad, standing up.

'And why not?'

'I don't even know who they are.'

'I just introduced you to them,' I replied, 'plus, what trouble could we get in to? Carl is a monk and Van Helsing is an angel, and I'm part of the undead. The worse that could happen has already happened.' Mom stood to place a calming hand on dad's shoulder.

'Listen to her, Bob, she's right. You can't protect her anymore.' I smiled at mom, silently thanking her. She smiled back, but I could see the tears in her eyes. I held mine back as I gave her a hug. She kissed me on the cheek before I switched to dad. I then hugged Marie before turning to Carl and Van Helsing.

'Everything ready to go?' I asked. Carl nodded before they stood. Van Helsing led the way into my bedroom, with everyone following. Carl took out a vial and held onto it as he whispered a small prayer and something I couldn't understand before he threw it at my closed closet door.

I turned to my family as the smoke began to clear.

'Do not follow,' I warned them, 'I will meet with you again, and hopefully by then, I'll be back to normal.' Marie and mom nodded, while dad clenched his jaw and remained still. I then looked at Van Helsing and Carl, who were waiting for me to go through the portal with them. I nodded and Carl went through the portal, then Van Helsing and I followed the rear, looking back at my family, one last time before I plunged into the dark portal.


	6. Back to the Order

**Back to the Order**

When I finally came out on the other side, I found myself at the Order. There seemed to be something wrong, because everyone was rushing around, leaving their experiments and fires unattended. Instead, their attention turned to me and all weapons were pointed at me. I froze. I hadn't expected this.

'Wait,' said Carl, stepping between me and the weapons. Van Helsing held a protective arm in front of me as Carl attempted to explain, 'she's on our side.'

'No abomination is on our side,' growled a voice in the crowd and there was a murmur of agreement that spread throughout.

'Do you think I wanted to become this?' I asked.

'Be quiet monster,' snapped a monk.

'I will not be quiet,' I growled, 'I came here to help you destroy Dracula and to try to become human again.'

'That's impossible.'

'She lies,' called another.

'First time she attacks a human you can kill her,' offered Van Helsing.

'How do we know she hasn't already?'

'She's been with me ever since her change,' he replied.

'Isn't it your duty to destroy them?'

'To destroy evil,' he corrected, 'she is not evil.' He looked around the mob for a moment before saying, 'all that I ask is that you allow me to train her here. If you are concerned that she will bite one of you, you can create some type of serum to give her nutrition in another way.'

'What is going on here?' said a familiar voice. I looked up to see the Cardinal coming to the front of the crowd. There was no reaction when he saw me; instead he motioned for us to follow him, 'follow me.'

Van Helsing and Carl flanked me as we went through the crowd to follow the Cardinal. We took the familiar route to his office and once we were inside, he closed the door.

'Please, sit,' he offered as he took his own seat. We did as we were told and he leaned back into his chair and threaded his fingers together. 'I am not surprised that this has happened.'

'Why?' I asked, knowing that the other two wouldn't have the guts to ask a high ranking holy man.

'When Carl had suggested finding you when Van Helsing disappeared, I was in agreement. I needed to find him. When I saw you, on the other hand, I had great doubts in Carl's choice. Although you did what your mission required, you are incapable of doing it without injury.'

'You say this because I'm a girl?' I asked. I felt the anger begin to boil deep within. I ignored it, remembering that this was merely the 19th century and women's rights weren't accepted yet.

'Those attributes topped the list,' he admitted, 'but you had no prior training and the training you did receive was inadequate. Your knowledge of the times and the situation were possibly your downfall.'

'This didn't happen in London,' I objected, 'it happened in my own time, the 21st century. I only came back because I needed help getting trained to kill Dracula.' The Cardinal seemed surprised at this and looked at Carl and Van Helsing.

'Is this true?' They nodded. He looked back at me, 'I can only assume that you are at fault.'

My blood began to boil at this accusation. I felt a hand upon my arm and looked to see Van Helsing. His eyes told me to calm down, and I tried to.

'Partially. The other part is Velkan Valerious.'

'He was reported dead,' the Cardinal once again received the truth from Van Helsing.

'He somehow came back to life. He lost his memory and was turned into a vampire by Dracula. He survived until Erica's time and took her back to London. He took Dracula's spot, so Dracula is the one who survived.'

The Cardinal was quiet for a little while as he thought. He looked at me and I suddenly felt really uneasy.

'I suppose that it would be to our advantage to have a vampire to study.'

'What?' my voice wasn't the only one; Van Helsing added his to it.

'It will be of great advantage to our scientists,' he repeated.

'How?' I asked cautiously. A part of me didn't even want to know what he was thinking.

'To study how you react to different tests, your agility, ability to heal. Maybe even take samples to see if we can make a cure.'

'No,' I objected, 'I did not come here to be someone's test rat.'

'It would be for the good of all.'

'For me to become a type of martyr due to the church? What ever happened to the body is a temple and all that stuff?'

'Your body is dead,' he explained, 'it is no longer a temple hosting your soul.'

'So, I'm without a soul now?' my voice raised a little and he nodded. I felt the anger flare up in me as I stood up. I was now shaking, 'I feel exactly the same as before. I still have a conscience, and feelings. The only difference I feel is stronger.'

The Cardinal and Van Helsing quickly stood. Van Helsing tried to put a calming hand on my shoulder. I shook it off.

'That's it, isn't it?' I continued, 'you are afraid of things that are stronger than you. That is why you slay vampires and werewolves and other creatures. It is why you fear God and the devil.' I chuckled.

The Cardinal paled.

'Just be happy that I want to be human again,' I replied, 'and that I still have my soul.' And with this, I turned and walked out of the office, slamming the door. I hurried down the hall and as soon as I turned the corner, I leaned against the wall, feeling suddenly weak. My tirade seemed to have drained me of all my energy, and seeing as I had only fed once (and not that much at that) since my transformation, I could understand why. My knees soon gave out from underneath me and I slid to the floor.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall and when I sniffed the air, I found that it was Van Helsing. My mouth watered at the sound of his heartbeat and the blood running through his veins. I shook these ideas out of my head.

_I would not, could not feed on a human._

He turned the corner and spotted me on the floor. I couldn't see his face, but I heard his heart quicken at the sight of me. A rhythm that beat in fear.

'Erica,' he crouched next to me, 'are you alright?'

'Go away,' I said and I attempted to push him, but my arm barely went up six inches before it fell down next to me, useless.

'You are weak,' he commented, 'you need to feed.' He lifted me bridal style and the hallway began to be fuzzy. I didn't even feel like fighting him because I knew it was futile. My eyelids became heavy and I could barely keep them open. I felt Van Helsing place me on a bed and I heard him unsheathing a knife. Before I could object, he slashed his wrist and held it over my mouth.

'No,' I muttered. I did not want to drink human blood even if it meant my survival. I turned my head as the blood dripped onto my cheek and trickled down to my neck and hair. He grabbed my chin, turned my face back to his and pressed his wrist to my lips. The blood dripped in, seeping down my throat. My strength began to return and I seized the wrist and began to suck on the wound, trying to get as much blood as possible. Once I finally became strong enough to be aware of what I was doing, I pushed Van Helsing's arm away. The blood churned in my stomach and I was soon leaning over the bed, heaving some of it back up. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before I buried my face into my hands, crying.

'Erica,' began Van Helsing. I could tell that he didn't know what to say. In fact, I was just as lost for words as he was. I felt so ashamed.

And for the first time since my change, I felt weak. Not physically anymore, mentally weak. I allowed Van Helsing to give me his blood.

Could this cause me to crave human blood? To become the monster that Dracula is?

_You don't have to kill your victims._ These words of Septimus's echoed in my mind.

Van Helsing placed his hand on my shoulder and raised my face from my hands to look at him.

'I want you to feed off of me until we can get something else for you to eat,' he said. I shook my head.

'I don't want to be a burden. Or get addicted to human blood.'

'You won't be, Erica. I promise.' Our eyes met and I felt like arguing with him. Instead, I decided to change the subject.

'What is our first form of attack against Dracula?' He took his hand away from my shoulder and sat back, thinking.

'I was thinking about trying something safe. Remember when we slayed him the first time? At his ice fortress?' I nodded, but didn't know where this was heading. 'When he dies and turns to ash, why don't we take his ash and toss it into the ocean?' I thought for a moment, trying to see any complication with this idea.

'Sounds good.'

'And, I don't have to have you in any danger,' he added as an after thought. I frowned.

'You should realize by now that I can take care of myself.' He frowned.

'Can you really? Is this how you take care of yourself, by becoming what you are now?'

'That was inevitable,' I growled, 'it was fate.'

'It was stupidity,' he replied. His hand went to his waist where he had a knife. I'm sure this was because my eyes had turned gold.

'It was inevitable,' I repeated, standing. He stood as well. I started for the door and before I exited I paused long enough to say, 'and you would do well, Mr. Van Helsing, to not anger a vampire. You may be Gabriel but you have the limitations of a mortal body.'

I headed down the hallway, unsure of what exactly I was going to do. And then it dawned on me, I would go to Carl, get the potion to go to Dracula's ice castle, steal the ashes, toss them into the ocean there and then return to my time period. No stopping back here or confronting Van Helsing again.

I closed my eyes and focused on finding Carl. I soon found him in lab. I hesitated, did I really want to go down into the lion's den without Van Helsing to protect me? I shook this away. They wouldn't dare attack me under orders of Van Helsing. I headed for the lab, wary of my hostile surroundings.

I made it to Carl's table without being attacked, but everyone watched my every move, some even held weapons in their hands as they watched me walk. I held my head high and acted as though I wasn't bothered by this. Carl was hard at work making the time vials, so he didn't hear me approach him.

'Carl,' I said softly, so that he wouldn't jump. He did anyway. Thankfully he didn't have anything in his hands that he would have spilt everywhere.

'Erica, you frightened me,' he gasped.

'Do you have a couple vials left?' I asked. He thought for a moment and nodded as he searched his table for them. In a small box, he withdrew them, I could see that there was one more in there.

'I'm going to see if I can gather his ashes from the Ice Castle when Van Helsing had killed him. If all works well, I'll head back to my time period with the other. '

'What will you do with the ashes?'

'Throw them into the ocean,' I replied, 'it was Van Helsing's idea.'

'Where is Van Helsing?' I shrugged.

'He's busy.' I took the vials, 'how do you work these things?'

'You have to state exactly when and where you want to go. I haven't ever tried it in anything but Latin. But you should be fine in English.' I nodded and turned to leave, but paused.

'And Carl, thanks for everything. Come visit sometime and I will give you a proper tour of my time.'

'I will,' he replied. I walked away to find an empty room where I could have privacy and wouldn't be followed. I tried to remember what I had seen Carl and Velkan do when they threw the vial, so I stuffed one vial into my pocket and held the other to my chest and whispered, 'Dracula's Ice Castle, as Dracula died.' I closed my eyes, visualizing the place, hoping that this would help.

I opened my eyes and threw the vial at an empty wall and as soon as the smoke cleared, I took in a deep breath and walked into the wall and through the portal.


	7. First Idea

**First Idea**

Everything went dark and cold and as soon as I got to the other end, it was still the same. My new eyesight was able to see everything around me and take in the now deserted castle. There were still many crates there, but the dwergi were gone, and so were Van Helsing, Carl, Anna, and I.

I carefully traveled among the deserted ruins of Dracula's lab, trying to find the exact spot in which Dracula died. But when I found it, it was already being gathered by another being. I slowly approached him as he moved inhumanly fast, sweeping up the remains with his hand and placing it into an urn. He had long black hair gathered into a tail at the back of his head and wore a costume similar to Van Helsing's, which included a trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat. When I was within twenty feet of him, he must have heard my boots because he quickly stood and looked at me. I froze as I faced a familiar being, Ulrich Von Trappe.

'You,' I breathed. He smiled and bared his fangs.

'Evening, madam, may I help you?'

'Hand over the ashes, Von Trappe.' His sarcastic smile did not waver as I said his name.

'Finder's keepers, darling,' he bowed. I hissed through my teeth. I needed those ashes; this could not get out of hand. I could not lose! I launched myself at him and he quickly dodged me and grabbed my hair, yanking my head back.

'Such temper for such a young vampire,' he chuckled, 'what would you want with these ashes? Eh? Resurrect your lover, perhaps?'

'Why should I tell you?' He pulled out a knife and held it to my throat; I took this as a hint. 'I need them to return to my human form.' He laughed.

'Do you not think that that is what I have been trying to do for years now? I shall give you a hint, my dear; it will save you years of error. There is no cure. You are dead, the only cure is actual death and that is hell,' his face neared mine and I could smell his putrid breath. There was blood on it too, which made my mouth water.

'I could alleviate your pain, in more ways than death could ever present,' he offered. I knew what he meant and I growled. He chuckled, 'you know who I am, and where I shall be, contact me if you want company. The offer will always stand in London.'

And with this, he was gone.

As soon as I had gained my wits back, I sniffed the air, attempting to get a hint as to where he may have gone, but I could not.

'Erica,' called a voice from the shadows. I turned to see Van Helsing come into the light.

'What are you doing here?' I growled.

'Carl had said that you came to get his ashes.'

'Von Trappe beat me to them.'

'I see that,' he commented and offered his hand, 'ready to head back to the Order to figure out something else to do?' I sighed, defeated, and took his hand. He led me to the portal and we went back to the Order.


	8. Second Time's the Charm?

**Second Time's the Charm?**

'Back already?' asked Carl, as he lifted up his goggles.

'Plan didn't work,' I told him and turned to Van Helsing, 'we should go to Von Trappe's Castle, prevent Velkan from taking Dracula's place; so that you can kill Dracula instead of him.'

'That would be futile unless you killed Velkan. Could you do that?' he asked. As he said this, the image of the stake going into Velkan's heart and Dracula's mocking bow came to mind. But Van Helsing already knew my answer. I knew that I could not. I looked away and muttered, 'no.'

'What if we steal the ashes from Von Trappe?' I suggested. He froze but nodded after a moment.

'Wouldn't that cause history to change?' asked Carl.

'I'm willing to try it. If not, I'll go back and stop myself,' I smiled. Van Helsing turned to Carl.

'How much longer before those potions are ready?'

'A day, why?' he asked. I was asking the same question. Why would he wonder about more potions, since I had just presented the most infallible plan that was bound to go right?

'Erica needs a way to go back and I need a way back here. The potion we use to get there will be finished by the time we accomplish our task.' Both Carl and I nodded.

'What should we do while we wait?' I asked.

'Leave Carl to his work and get to work on formulating a plan,' he took my arm and steered me out of the room. 'But first, how are you feeling?'

'Huh?' I was confused, I hadn't been hurt or anything.

'Are you hungry?' I frowned. He didn't wait for my answer, 'let's get you fed.'

'I'm not feeding off of you,' I growled.

'No need to,' he smiled, 'I have the perfect place for us to go.'

We were soon in a forest, Van Helsing had a couple of vials of potion left, one he used to get us there and the other would get us back. I was embarrassed to feed in front of him, so I would run off into the trees and quickly drink from a rabbit or a deer so he wouldn't see me. After I had my fill, I returned to sit next to him on a log.

'Now, about you stealing the ashes from Von Trappe, how will you go about this?'

'I'll sneak through the house, grab them, and throw them into the Thames, the water ought to wash them away and no one would be ever able to gather them all again.'

'What would you have me do?' he asked. I paused; I hadn't really included him in the picture.

'It is probably best if you do not come,' I said. I noticed that he was about to get angry, so I quickly added, 'it is much easier for one to go through the house. Since I am a vampire and will be against vampires, it is best that I do it. I am much faster than you, and I can't risk you being caught.' I thought for a moment, thinking of any reason that this couldn't work. And then I remembered. Didn't Dracula change me back into a human after I had killed Von Trappe as a werewolf?

'There is one thing you could do,' I added, 'check on me in the future to make sure I'm actually human.'

'Are you afraid that this isn't going to work?'

'No, I had just recalled that Dracula had been the one to change me back into a human after the first time I had been a werewolf, just after I had killed Von Trappe.'

'I will make sure of it.' I offered him a smile and he smiled back. Old feelings that I still harbored about him flared and I'm sure I would have blushed had I had the blood to do so.

The day passed quickly and soon both of us were back at the Order and Carl was giving me the vials. Since Van Helsing had agreed with my idea of me going alone, I was the only one given the vials. The extra would be saved for Van Helsing to check on me in the future. I smiled at them both and repeated my offer to Carl about visiting me in the future, extending it to Van Helsing. He smiled and said that he would consider it. I then broke the vial and headed to Von Trappe's castle soon after I had been captured.

The castle's dreariness had not changed, even from a vampire's sight. I walked in to where the alter area was, where I had first met Dracula after his resurrection, and found the urn of ashes quickly. I grabbed them, and held onto them tightly as I opened the door to the great hall. When I found it empty, I ran to the door and threw it open. It was simple to get to the Thames river and I was about to throw it in when a voice stopped me.

'We meet again my love.' I quickly recognize this voice and I turn around. I look Von Trappe in the eyes and see surprise within its depth as he recognizes me.

'How is it possible that you are human and vampire at the same time?'

'You'll never know,' I smile. I turn around to throw the ashes into the river, but I am knocked to the side.

'Why would you wish to destroy these ashes?' he asks, standing over me, 'I thought that they were your way to return to being mortal.'

'That would be the reason why,' I replied. I look to the urn that is just out of arm's reach and I dive for it. I grab it and attempt to launch it back into the river, but Von Trappe pins my arms to my sides. He stands behind me, his breath on my neck as he breathed in my scent.

'Why would you resurrect him?' I ask. Despite the fact that my arms are pinned to my sides, I can handle the urn with both hands and attempt to open the lid. My fingers come across a latch that has a screw holding it shut. I silently curse as I begin to unscrew it.

'He is the leader of our kind, a new hope for us,' he breathed, 'after his death; we had to resort back to hiding. Before it, we were free, unafraid of the slayer Van Helsing.' The latch became free.

'You should have stayed longer,' I replied, 'because Van Helsing came back to gather the ashes as well.'

'And why is that you are still alive?' His voice almost sounded like he was awed at the fact that I had met Van Helsing and lived.

'Because, I agree with him,' I said as I popped the lid open, 'Dracula should not be resurrected.' And with this I dumped out the ashes. The wind caught some and scattered it into the river. Von Trappe pushed me away as he attempted to gather the ashes once more. And, as though providence was working with me, it began to rain.

The rain washed the ashes into the mud, and some even washed into the river. He paused, knowing that his cause was lost and he looked at me. The rain had caused his hair to fall in front of his face, causing it to have a slightly demonic look about it.

'You are going to regret that,' he hissed and dove at me. I raised my arms in front of me for protection and suddenly everything disappeared.


	9. Major Deja Vu

_This is going back into the second VH fanfiction, so it may sound familiar but it is different._

**Major Déjà vu**

I hit the floor, groggy from my night of sleep. My dream of Dracula pushing me out of the bed came to mind and I growled.

_Why was I dreaming of him anyway?_

Dracula's words echoed in my head, _"You must return to Von Trappe. He has it now."_

And suddenly everything that had happened before I had gone to bed hit me. Memories of Carl's arrival at prom, coming to London with Derek, meeting Van, being bitten by Von Trappe and then a werewolf; me crying myself to sleep in Van Helsing's arms.

_Where was Van Helsing anyway?_

Remembering Dracula's warning that it is dawn, I quickly got up, got dressed, and placed daggers into each of my boots. I put on my coat as I rushed down the stairs. All I knew was that I had to get to Von Trappe's during day light, it would be much safer their.

'Going somewhere?' asked a voice. I turned to see Van poking his head outside of his door.

'I'm going for a walk,' I replied.

'Need company?' he asked. _No!_

'Sure,' I replied and turned to head down the stairs, not waiting to see if he was ready or not. I heard him hurrying down the steps after me and I opened the door and froze. The sun was just setting.

_Damn you, Dracula!_

'Is everything alright?' he asked.

'Yes,' I said, quickly. Van offered his arm and I took it. He escorted me down the street, talking his head off. I led him off to Von Trappe's mansion and as soon as we turned on his block, I had the strangest form of déjà vu and a sense of dread filled me. I shook this away, believing that I was just still afraid that something might jump out. What should I be afraid of? I was nearly a werewolf, hopefully soon not to be one.

The entire street suddenly seemed brighter than normal and I looked up to see a full moon exposed between the clouds. My body shuddered, and I felt the pain as my body threatened to change and I let out a low moan. I needed the antidote.

'Are you alright?' asked Van, stopping, ironically, right outside of Von Trappe's home.

'I'll soon be,' I replied, releasing his arm and heading for the house (even though it was closer to staggering, I was in a lot of pain).

'Erica, what are you doing,' he asked, grabbing my arm. I looked at his face and saw a mixture of confusion and fear in his eyes.

'He has something that I need.'

'I'm not letting you go in there.'

'Let go,' I said. He responded by tightening his grip.

'That's suicide,' he replied.

'It will be for you if you don't RELEASE ME!' the last two words came out of my mouth as a growl. He released me, and I hurried off before he could recover. I quickly slipped in the door and headed for his office, I was sure that I could find him there.

'Welcome back, Erica,' said Von Trappe from behind me as my hand touched his office door. I froze.

'You know why I returned.'

'First exposure to a full moon,' he mused aloud. I felt my body respond to the idea and the pain nearly made me fall to my knees. 'Can you feel its pull? Its want for change?'

_Why do I am I in such pain? Something feels so…odd, something's not right._

'Come, my love,' he ordered, leading the way to an obscure part of the house. He opened a door and beckoned with his hand for me to enter. I did so and found myself in a type of sanctuary. The sense of déjà vu I had was overwhelming. How could I recognize this place?

There was a simple alter, with a large window allowing the hazy moonlight to enter. My body shuddered again at the exposure.

'My love, I will give you the antidote under one condition.'

_Don't say bride, don't say bride!_

'If you become my bride.'

_What is up with these vampires and their obsession for brides?_

'Why do you want me as a bride?' I asked. He chuckled and went to a small stand with a box in the corner and opened the box. He was doing something with it but I couldn't see what he was doing because he blocked it with his body.

'When Dracula died, the vampires lost their power. And since you destroyed any way of resurrecting him, I have decided that I shall replace him. The first thing is to create a lifestyle such as his. And I have decided that you would be a perfect first bride.' My body burned in pain and I doubled over.

'I don't believe in polygamy,' I said through my teeth, 'but you might want to give me that antidote if you value your life!' I heard some bones in my body audibly crack and I cried out in pain, collapsing to the floor.

Von Trappe was quickly by my side and I felt him put the needle into my stomach and I knew that he had injected me with the antidote. I felt it as soon as it entered my bloodstream because it felt as though my blood froze in that place and spread throughout my body. My bones cracked again and I cried out again, but the pain was less than before.

'Sleep, my love,' he whispered, 'it will lessen the pain.' I felt myself suddenly sleepy, but I knew that I needed to keep my eyes open; I needed to stay alert unless I wanted to become a vampire.

'Stay away from her,' growled a voice from the door, but I feel asleep before I could even find out who it was.

When I woke up again, I found myself lying in my bed at the Inn. I was surprised to find Van Helsing sitting at my side. And oddly enough, everything was in black and white.

_What the hell…_

'Van Helsing,' I smiled and he returned it.

'How are you feeling?'

'Other than the fact that I can't see colors, I'm alright,' I slowly sat up.

'It will wear off soon. It means that the antidote worked.'

'I'm glad,' I smiled. I placed my hand on top of his and he quickly moved it. I frowned, 'what is it?'

'I need to tell you some things,' he said, 'Van is dead. We found him in the same room as you, Von Trappe was a pile of dust, but Van was leaning against the wall, and it looked like he died because of fighting him.' My heart dropped when I heard this. It was Van who came to save me from Von Trappe.

'But you'll be happy to know that he was Velkan Valerious. The Order confirmed it.'

'Somehow,' I whispered, 'I knew all along.'

'Also, with the Von Trappe dead, my mission is over, and you must go back to the future.'

'What? Can't I stay?'

'Erica, it could never work, you must understand this. The fact that our ages and time periods differ so vastly…'

'Do I mean so little to you?' He winced.

'You mean a lot to me, Erica, and I do harbor feelings for you, strong ones. But it is nothing but a mere mortal whim.'

All of this hit me again as déjà vu. It was like my heart was being broken again and the feeling felt familiar although I had never been broken up with.

'Derek,' I whispered, knowing the answer. I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye.

'He loves you and his love is pure. I can see it in your eyes as well when you look at him, but you are blinded by something else.'

'Damn it, Van Helsing,' I mutter, turning my head. I had just realized what he said, and somehow I knew it all along. The ship ride, the fact that I had thought of him first when I wanted someone to accompany me to London, the way he acted around me and I around him throughout this trip.

'See,' he cupped my chin in his hand and turned my face towards him, 'you do love him.'

My eyesight got blurry at this and I knew that I was blushing.

I heard the door open and Van Helsing dropped his hand. We both looked to see Derek walking in. Our eyes met and I could see them light up and the worry on his face automatically disappeared.

'How are you feeling?'

'Much better,' I smiled. Van Helsing got up at this and left the room, closing the door behind him. Derek took the now empty seat next to the bed.

'Erica,' he began. I put my finger up to his lips and smiled. I felt myself hesitate but I pushed myself over the hesitation and kissed him.

'Oh, get a room,' said Kait as she walked into the room. We parted, both blushing a deep scarlet color. Kate laughed. 'are you ready to head back to finish our senior prom?'

'Yea,' I replied, looking to Derek. He nodded, stood and left.

'We are talking later,' said Kate, nodding towards Derek. I blushed even more as I stood and searched for my prom dress. When I found it, I turned to her and had her leave, asking her to send Van Helsing up a little later for me to talk to him. She nodded and left.

I quickly cleaned myself up and got dressed into my dress. I was in the process of attempting to duplicate Marie's hairstyle for me when there was a knock at the door. I called for him to enter, knowing that it was Van Helsing.

'You asked for me?' he asked. I nodded.

'Please close the door.' He did as I asked and I sat on the bed. 'You were right about Derek, Gabriel. And, this is a bit awkward to say, but you will always have a place in my heart.'

'And you in mine,' he replied. Our eyes met and I could see that he meant it.

'You and Carl will visit me, won't you?' He nodded. 'When you are not on a mission?'

He laughed, 'I promise that we will when we are not on a mission.'

'Good,' I stood and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

'Are you ready to leave?' he asked. I nodded, knowing that this was the best I was going to get for prom, 'Carl is ready.'

The return trip was similar to the way we went back to the Order. As it turned out, Carl had some extra vials after all and we were able to get back to the girl's lock room at the same time we had left, except for the six of us, nothing would ever be the same.


End file.
